PAN DE LA SEMANA

Novena in Honor of the Sweet Name of Mary Dulce Nombre Cathedral-Basilica Hagatna, Guam 7th Day: September 4, 2008 Based on 1 Cor 3:18-23 / Lk 5:1-11 Yesterday, we spoke about something that sounds so earthly and at the same time so heavenly, literally and figuratively – Mary, the star of the sea, stella maris , a title so old and yet so new, so ancient and yet so relevant, as I tried to explain yesterday. I would like to add a few more ideas related to this title of Mary, Star of the Sea. First and foremost, the gospel passage today refers to an incident right beside a body of water, the Sea of Galilee or Lake of Gennesareth. It is really a relatively small fresh water lake, but which the Jews back then called sea of Galilee, around which the daily lives of people then revolved, for the most part, and around which many incidents in the Lord’s life revolves, too, this gospel incident included. My reading of this passage is rather simple. It is a confirmation of what we said in respons...

Novena in Honor of Dulce Nombre de Maria Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica Hagatna, Guam 6th Day: September 3, 2008 Based on 1 Cor 3:1-9 / Lk 4:38-44 A cute little book I read in 1999 is entitled Mary: The Star of the Third Millenium . Frankly, I don’t remember much of what I read. All I remember is the title intrigued me and captivated my curiosity. Why would another title among so many be added to our Lady? And what importance does it have for us all 7 years already into the much hyped third millennium? In retrospect, I like the title. First of all, I am captivated by stars since I was a child. Growing up in the country side, with no street lighting whatsoever, dark nights afforded children that we were, so many hours of star gazing, and so much time solving the riddle of the stars on dark, starry nights. Secondly, I like what stars stand for – dreams and visions, goals that transcend time and space, dreams of distant and far flung places that I could only picture in the im...